Beyond the Boxscore–Fantasy MLB News and Notes 5/23/08

The majority of the news tonight revolves around starting pitching, so let’s just get the hitting out of the way quickly.

Rangers’ catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit his second homer of the season, and he made it count. Salty went Grand Salami, and although he is hitting just over .220, he is certainly an option for those of you suffering with a crappy option at catcher. He is young, he is powerful, now he just needs some experience and confidence and he could be a tough out for years to come.

Yankees 2B Robinson Cano looks like he might be breaking out of his season long slump. Cano has five hits in the last three games, and has driven in a run in three straight games. If his owner in your league is even a little bit down on Cano, see if you can swing a deal for him now (unless you own Chase Utley of course). Cano is a great hitter and when he does bust out of this funk, he is going to fill a lot of fantasy categories.

Another 2B in the news is Florida’s Dan Uggla. Uggla continues to punish the baseball, and he is putting himself in the company with the best at his position. However, if you think he will finish the season with numbers similar to Chase Utley, I believe you will be sorely disappointed. Uggla has his average up to .320 and hit his 15^th homer of the year on Friday. His power was never a question, but I think his average will take a sharp dive in the wrong direction.

Injury News

Another great cancer survivor story came from Arizona’s Doug Davis today. Davis had surgery to remove his cancer on April 10^th, and just six weeks later is back on the mound in a major league mound. Not only that, but he pitched very well. Davis lasted seven innings, allowed just one run and struck out four. His return signals the end of Max Scherzer as part of the rotation, so Davis isn’t very popular with fantasy players, especially those in keeper leagues. Davis is an average fantasy option, and even saying that, unless you have an injury I can’t recommend picking up Davis. He has been an average starter throughout his career, and I believe he will continue to be just that.

Indians starter Fausto Carmona left his start tonight after injuring his hip covering first base. It is too soon to find out if he will miss any extended time, or any at all. Keep an eye on this situation for details.

More Pitching News

The rumors are flying again about the arrival of super prospect Clayton Kershaw for the Dodgers. The speculation comes from the fact that he was pulled after just one inning in his last start Kershaw is in line to make his next start on Tuesday, the exact time that the Dodgers would need a fifth starter again. More details if this becomes official, but right now it is still just a rumor.

Angels starter Joe Saunders continues to pitch way over his head. Saunders ran his record to 8-1 on Friday after pitching into the ninth inning against the White Sox. Saunders was almost able to go the distance, but got into a little trouble in the ninth before being relieved by K-Rod. Saunders is a guy that I would definitely try to sell high on, and after tonight’s performance, he may have made that a lot easier for you to do.

Saunders’ opponent, Gavin Floyd, was able to go the distance, although it was in a losing effort. Floyd has been a very effective pitcher in most of his starts in 2008, and his ERA is under 3.00. Floyd deserves better than his 4-3 record and is a pretty decent option if you are looking to add a pitcher.

Even with Josh Hamilton leading the world in RBI, the trade which sent him to Texas continues to look good for both teams, as Edinson Volquez continues to pitch masterful baseball. On Friday, Volquez allowed just one run over six innings and fanned 12 to actually raise his ERA to an incredible 1.34. Although he is going to have to start allowing SOME runs, Volquez should finish the season as one of the top 15 starters in the majors.

The inconsistencies from Mets’ starter Oliver Perez continue. I keep touting him as a guy who can give your team a lot of help in the second half, but unless he learns to keep these walks under control, Perez is going to hurt you more than help. On Friday, Perez allowed only two runs over five innings, but in could have been much worse if some of his eight walks were to have crossed the plate. I still like Perez, but am starting to become more and more concerned about his control, and if he can give you consistent outings each time he takes the ball on the mound.

The recent shakiness for Royals’ SP Zach Greinke finally manifested itself into a bad start for the youngster. One of the best sell high options, Greinke finally allowed more than three runs for the time all season as he allowed six runs over just five innings. For those of you who are consistent readers of this blog know that I have been waiting for this sort of outing from Greinke, and I believe there are more where this came from in the future.

The Tampa Bay Rays continue to get strong pitching, and continue to have the best season in their franchise history. Friday it was Matt Garza’s turn, and the man they got for Delmon Young didn’t disappoint. Garza went 7.1 innings, allowed just one run and struck out four. Long considered the Twins top pitching prospect, Garza has been up and down some after returning from an injury that cost him the beginning of the season. Keep your expectations under control, and you won’t be disappointed with having Garza on your roster.

As always, your questions (adds, drops, trades) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Don’t forget to check me out at mlbfrontoffice.com on Tuesdays under In The News. Also go to fantasybaseballsearch.com to find me in the Gurus Blog.

Beyond the Boxscore–Fantasy MLB News and Notes 5/18/08

Again, I would like to thank the guys from fantasybaseballsearch.com for having me as a guest on their weekly radio show. They do an hour and a half show every Sunday, and I was lucky enough to make my second appearance. Please check out the show as well as their sites. They are fantasybaseballsearch.com, www.fantasybaseballgenerals.com, and www.junkyardjake.com. Please visit these sites as they are great tools to help your fantasy teams.

Let the demise of Cliff Lee as Cy Young begin. A guy who many have touted as this year’s big pitcher to have, will slowly turn back into the pitcher he has been for the last few years. He lasted just 5.2 innings and allowed five earned runs, striking out only two while taking his first loss of the season. I see Lee winning 14 games with an ERA near 4.00 by the end of the year. He is one player that I certainly would try to sell high on now, as you might be able to get one of the top15 pitchers in the league, but move quickly.

2007 17 game winner Jeff Francis finally picked up his first win of the season on Sunday. Francis had been a victim of poor run support on some days, but he was incredibly awful on others. I believe he will finish the season at around the .500 mark, and is a decent option to pick up if you have someone who is really struggling.

A guy I would work on acquiring is Seattle’s Felix Hernandez. The guy has a ton of talent, is still very young, and has a great strikeout rate. King Felix had a good start Sunday going six innings, allowing two runs and striking out five. Felix has been a bit inconsistent throughout his career, but remember he came up when he was 19. Still under 25, he is more of a veteran now, and I believe he will start being very effective regularly very soon.

Although he is almost eligible to start receiving his social security benefits, Randy Johnson continues to be an effective pitcher when he is healthy enough to take the mound. The Big Unit threw seven shutout innings and struck out five improving his record to 4-1. His ERA is higher than he would like, but at his age, if you can get any contribution from him you should be happy, and he is far exceeding my expectations.

Whenever there is a game that is big to the Mets, it always seems that Oliver Perez pitches well. Not that a game in May is huge in the grand scheme of things, but you know the Mets want to beat the Yanks, especially on national television. And right on cue Perez threw well. Oliver went 7.2 innings, allowed two earned runs and fanned four. You know my thoughts on the guy, although he isn’t the most consistent, he is one that I really like.

Although Zach Greinke continues to pitch well and win, he is starting to allow more hits and runs. In the beginning of the season he was giving up zero or one run. The last few times out it has been two or three. I know what you are thinking, boy that’s really splitting hairs. But I really don’t expect this production to continue, and if you need something to point to for backup, it is that he hasn’t been as dominant later. He is another sell high candidate.

Chris Perez is going to be a name that you will be hearing plenty about in the coming days. Perez is a minor leaguer for the Cardinals who was just called up when Jason Isringhausen was put on the DL. Chris appears to have been the Cards closer in waiting, who may not be waiting anymore. Isringhausen is close to the end of his career, and if Perez pitches well while he is in St. Louis, you might not see Izzy back in the 9^th inning when he is healthy enough to return. I’m not sure that Perez is worth all the hype he has received the past couple days, but if you are looking for a new source of saves, Perez might be closing for the Cardinals within the next few weeks.

Home Run Derby

Light hitting White Sox shortstop Orlando Cabrera hit two baseballs out on Sunday, hopefully the start of a turnaround to a nightmare start of the season for the OC. Cabrera will never lead your team to the top of your game in homers, but it is nice to get this kind of game from an unexpected source. I expect his numbers will improve from the .220 he is currently hitting, just don’t expect this power showing to continue.

Adam Dunn has now homered in four straight games. One of the best home run hitters in the majors, you can pretty much write Adam down for 40 bombs now. You can also probably write him down for a .245 average too, but you didn’t draft him for his ability to take the ball the other way, or hit with two strikes. After a power outage to start the year, Dunn is now where we expected, and you can safely expect him to keep hitting homers.

In the past eight games, Ryan Howard now has four home runs, and is another player who is getting back on track from a tough start to the year. He still is striking out at an alarming rate (64 in 45 games), but at least now he is showing the power that we expect from him. Continue to start Howard (obviously) and expect him to play like the first round pick he was.

Fenway Park was a launching pad between the Red Sox and Brewers, as an amazing eight taters went over the fence. Leading the charge were formerly struggling sluggers Ryan Braun (eight in the last eight games), and David Ortiz (three in the past three games) as it seems both of them are back on track to produce like they did last season. But also leaving the yard was J.J. Hardy, Dustin Pedroia, Prince Fielder, and Kevin Youkilis.

As always, your questions (adds, drops, trades) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Don’t forget to check me out at mlbfrontoffice.com on Tuesdays under In The News. Also go to fantasybaseballsearch.com to find me in the Gurus Blog.

Beyond the Boxscore–Fantasy MLB News and Notes 5/11/08

I want to start tonight by wishing a very Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there, especially my wonderful mother who has meant so much to my life. And also to my wife, who will be a mother for the second time at any minute. We all owe so much to these women, make sure they know what they mean to you. I know fantasy baseball doesn’t lend itself to too many mothers reading this (although I know of two for sure), but it is something that is important to me.

Reds’ rookie Johnny Cueto is taking a turn for the worse. After electrifying his opponents in Spring Training in the beginning of the season, Cueto has lost four of his last five decisions. Cueto allowed another six runs on Sunday against the Mets, failing to get through the fifth inning. I still wouldn’t advise dropping him, but he has got to be on serious watch if he continues to pitch this way.

Closers in the National League Central are dropping like flies. A day after Jason Isringhausen was removed as Cardinals closer, Eric Gagne was finally removed as the closer of the Brewers. Milwaukee announced that they would employ the dreaded “closer by committee” and the first opportunity went to Salomon Torres, but he had to be removed in the ninth inning before the save went to Bob Shouse. This situation is a mess, and it is hard to say who will be getting saves for the Brewers. More information will come IF it becomes available.

People are always very torn on their opinion on the Mets’ Oliver Perez on how he should be valued. Those who argue against Perez see him as a guy who can’t keep his concentration, walks too many batters, and is prone to the big inning. Those, like me, who like Perez see his electric arm, strikeout rate, home park he pitches in, and offensive ability of the team he plays for, and says if he gets a few breaks he could win 18 games. Today Perez was that good pitcher, and the Mets were that offensive team. Perez went six innings, allowed three runs, and struck out eight to improve his record to 3-3. I can’t really argue against his negatives, but I believe he will be good more often than he will be bad.

Rich Harden made his much anticipated return to the mound Sunday, but he did not come through for those who have been so patient with him. Harden could only get through 3.2 innings and allowed five runs. I wouldn’t advise go sending Harden to the waiver wire, not yet at least. As long as he is healthy, keep Harden on your roster, at least until he gets hurt again. He is an immensely talented guy, he just can’t stay on the mound. If you have been this patient, wait until he starts again.

To replace the struggling Rich Hill, the Cubs called up Sean Gallagher, and let’s just say, Rich Hill could have done that! Gallagher only lasted 4.1 innings, gave up four runs, and struck out six. I would want to see at least one quality start before I thought about adding Gallagher to my roster.

Ervin Santana has been nearly perfect all season long, and we here at Fighting Chance have just been waiting for him to falter. And boy did he falter. Santana gave up five runs in 5.2 innings, but didn’t figure in the decision. While I believe that Santana will have a pretty good season, trust me, this isn’t the last time that we will see a terrible outing like Sunday. To me, he is one of the biggest sell high candidates of 2008.

“Mr. Almost A No Hitter” Gavin Floyd did not get so close to the no hitter on Sunday. In fact, Floyd didn’t even see the fifth inning today. He allowed five runs over 3.2 innings and didn’t record a strikeout. Floyd has been a good story this year, but he is still wildly inconsistent. No runs here, five runs there, no runs again, three runs over there. At the bottom of your rotation, he’s not a bad guy to have, but he is just too up and down for me to advise depending on him too much.

The Angels finally placed Chone Figgins on the disabled list with his strained hamstring. The move was retroactive to May 4^th (the day after the last time he played),which means he is eligible to return on May 19^th. The Angels are hopeful that he will be able to return on that day.

Francisco Liriano has been better in the minors, but still has a long road in his return to the majors.  On Saturday he allowed just two runs over six innings with five strikeouts.  This isn’t going to be a quick fix for Liriano, but this is at least encouraging for those of us who are holding on to him while he is in the minors.

Royals starter Brian Bannister came into 2008 with a lot of expectations on him, and up to this point he has been a mild disappointment. On Sunday, he showed what he is capable of. Bannister went eight shutout innings while striking out five. He was viewed as one of the big sleepers coming into the year, but he is looking like he will be slightly more than a .500 pitcher.

Impressive Performances

Ryan Braun is starting to look like the guy who won the 2007 NL ROY. Braun hit homers number six and seven on Sunday, and now has his batting average up to .281. He is not stealing bases like he did last year (he has only one), but if you can get the power numbers he put up last year, you still would have to be happy with his production.

After hitting two more homers on Sunday, Marlins 2B Dan Uggla now has seven homers in his last nine games. He also has 14 RBI during that stretch and has raised his average by over 30 points.

Another Marlin, Jeremy Hermida could possibly be on a hot streak that has been projected of him for years. Hermida has seven hits in his last five games to get his average over .300. He also hit his third homer of the year, and perhaps if he can stay on the field he can start to realize the potential that he has. A couple more good games, and you should hit the waiver wire for him.

A whopping disappointment, Carlos Beltran, had a game that could possibly get him out of the season long slump he has been in. Beltran had two hits, including his third homer, and raised his season average to .240. You probably spent a pretty high draft pick on Beltran, and you have to be hoping that this is the game that he starts to turn it around.

Rays OF Carl Crawford had himself a great Sunday. Crawford had three hits, including his third homer and also stole two bases (his 11^th and 12^th of the year). You most likely spent either a first round or early second round pick on Crawford, and theses are the kind of games you have been waiting for. Crawford has been decently consistent, but you’ve got to be hoping for a little more.

Finally, I got some gas today and I am appalled at the $3.85/gallon price that I paid. I’m not going to get into my political views, as this is not the place, but it is insane the amount that gas has gone up in the past 6-8 weeks. So, my question is, I want to know for those who read this and care to answer, where are you from and what is the gas price in your area?

As always, your questions (adds, drops, trades) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours. Don’t forget to check me out at mlbfrontoffice.com on Tuesdays under In The News. Also go to fantasybaseballsearch.com to find me in the Gurus Blog.

Beyond the Boxscore–Fantasy MLB News and Notes 4/19/08; Hochevar, Greinke, Lincecum, Cueto, more

The player who has created the biggest buzz so far this year in fantasy baseball has been Johnny Cueto, and so far he hasn’t disappointed. His owners had to be very curious how he would do after giving up five runs in his previous start. Would he bounce back? Or was he doomed to start to struggle like most pitchers in his situation? Cueto answered today with another great outing. He went seven innings, gave up just two earned runs and struck out five. He wasn’t around for the decision, but it was a good answer after being roughed up for the first time in the majors.

Another young fireballer, Tim Lincecum looks like he is putting it all together this year. He has yet to give up more than two runs in any of his four starts, and he shut down the St. Louis Cardinals for the second consecutive time on Saturday. During that time he has also struck out 16 batters in just 13 innings, and he is now 3-0. This is about the most that you could expect from Tiny Tim, you have to expect him to be the victim of poor run support pitching in San Francisco, but so far that hasn’t bothered him.

Mentioning this for possibly the last time in an article, two more guys hit their first homers of the year. In San Francisco their latest bad contract, Aaron Rowand finally went deep for the first time. Rowand has at least been hitting for a good average when he has been healthy, but to expect him to repeat his numbers from 2007 is just crazy. If you own him, hope that he goes on a hot streak and you can get someone to bite on him. While Chipper Jones is lighting it up in Atlanta, the Jones they let go, Andruw Jones is floundering badly in LA. Jones has been moved to 7^th in the lineup, and finally hit his first homer today. How the mighty have fallen! He hit just .222 with 26 HRs last year, and he got his average up to .182 with just three RBI so far in 2008. Once one of the more feared hitters in the NL, Jones is getting close to being on the chopping block of many fantasy rosters.

Zach Greinke also has caused a great deal of talk in fantasy baseball this season, and I stand by my opinion that he will not have a great season. I admit, I have been starting to worry that I may be way off on this guy, but today he gave me some of my confidence back. Not saying he was bad, but at least he took a step back. He did just give up two runs over five innings, but it was the four walks that caught my eye. That is what does in young pitchers every time, the walks. Greinke didn’t factor in the decision, so he remains at 3-0, and his ERA rose to 1.24. I still say “sell high” he won’t keep this up all year.

More from Kansas City, the number one overall pick in 2006 will be on the mound on Sunday. Luke Hochevar will be making his season debut for the injured John Hale (who?), and should be a two start pitcher this week. He is 1-1 in the minors this season with a 2.60 ERA and 12 Ks in 17.1 innings. He is one of the elite pitching prospects in the game, and if you are looking for pitching, definitely give him a chance, he could be dominant. Normally, I wouldn’t suggest picking up a Royals pitcher so strongly, but with the success of Zach Greinke (ugh) and Brian Bannister, it looks like you can win games as a pitcher for the Royals.

The Yankees came into the season depending heavily on a couple of young arms they refused to trade for Johan Santana. So far, it isn’t looking like that was a good move. A day after Phil Hughes fell to 0-3 with an 8+ ERA, Ian Kennedy couldn’t get out of the third inning. Kennedy gave up four runs and walked five in just 2.2 innings, and his ERA is approaching ten. While I still have some faith in Hughes, Kennedy has only gotten out of the fifth inning once, and has been a pretty big disappointment so far, and I believe it is time to cut ties with him.

Derrek Lee is trying his best to make me look like an idiot. I have been preaching to move him while he is putting up good numbers, and he just keeps going out and fills up the box score. Lee went and hit his league leading seventh homer today, and is now hitting over .350. Like Greinke, I will stand by my opinions, and spin it to say, Lee is just giving you more time to make that trade. See if you can package him in a deal that maybe lands you someone like Prince Fielder who is off to a terrible start, but will turn it around.

Rays’ second year pitcher Andy Sonnanstine had himself quite a night on Saturday. Andy had not only his first career complete game, but a shut out to boot, allowing just three hits and striking out four. Unfortunately for Mr. Sonnanstine, that lowered his ERA to a still robust 5.55. He was 40-18 in his minor league career, and had a good K/IP ratio so it is possible that he could still be a viable fantasy option. Be careful who you might drop for him, but he is definitely worth a look. Think quickly though, when a young guy throws a shutout, he doesn’t usually last long on the waiver wire.

Like Cliff Lee, who we wrote about yesterday, it looks like Ervin Santana has put his putrid 2007 behind him, is back on track to keeping his career on the upswing. Santana went eight strong shutout innings Saturday night against the Mariners, allowing only three hits, didn’t walk a batter, and whiffed eight. Santana is off to the best start of his career, and I’m officially on his bandwagon to win 13-15 games and keep his ERA at around 3.50.

Quick Hitters

Joey Votto continues to get playing time, and he keeps making the most of it. Getting another start on Saturday, Votto was just 1-4, but that one was his third homer of the season. He is now hitting .326 and it is making it tough for Dusty Baker to keep him out of the lineup.

Kosuke Fukudome went 1-3 with his ninth ribbie of the season, and his third stolen base. It was obvious that he wasn’t going to hit .450 all year, so this slump that he has been in is expected. He is still performing above my expectations, but see if the last couple of games is the Fukur getting back on his groove.

B.J. Ryan collected his second save since returning from Tommy John surgery on Saturday. Ryan did allow a hit, but also struck out three batters. I haven’t been able to see him pitch just yet, but by the numbers he is putting up, it is looking like he is returning to his old form. Definitely start him if he is on your roster.

Not that this is really fantasy relevant, but the game between the Marlins and Nationals featured SEVEN ERRORS! There should be some rules against these owners tearing down their teams, there is some ugly baseball being played.

Oliver Perez was impressive again today for the Mets. I tapped him as one of my guys who would take the next step to stardom, and outside of one bad start, he looks ready to take that step. He did have some control issues today (five walks in 5.2 innings), but was able to work through them. He is now 2-0 with a 2.49 ERA and 21 Ks in 21.2 innings.

More from the Mets, Jose Reyes is starting to play like the guy you thought you picked in the first round of your draft. Reyes hit his fourth double, second homer (second in four games), and stole his third base of the season. Reyes now has 12 hits in his last five games, and he is poised to put up some big numbers this season.

After blowing two of his first three save chances, Eric Gagne has now put together five in a row as he saved Saturday’s game for the Brewers. Gagne hasn’t allowed a run during this span, and has only allowed two hits. Can’t say I’m confident this will continue, and if you own him, has he done enough to have some trade value in your league? I think it’s time to test it out.

A’s rookie Daric Barton was a homer away from the cycle as his up and down first year continued. Barton will go through a few games where he gets no hits, and then look great for a few days. He is kind of frustrating to own, but he’s hitting .276 with five doubles and three triples, so he’s worth adding if you have the room.

Twins rookie Nick Blackburn was very good again on Saturday. Nick went 7.2 shutout innings, although he only struck out one. He isn’t striking out a bunch of batters, but hasn’t had an awful start yet. If you are playing the merry go round of pitchers, give Blackburn a try the next time his turn comes up.

Highly touted Dodgers’ rookie Chad Billingsley has had an awful start to 2008, and it continued Saturday. Billingsley was only able to last five innings, giving up four runs, and walking five, whiffing nine. He has struck out 17 in his last two starts, but his walks and ERA are a problem. If you have him, I would say try to ride this out because he has a world of talent, but it has got to have you concerned.

Dustin McGowan hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of his starts so far this season. He continued his nice (not great, but nice) start to the year and collected his first win. McGowan has been lacking in the strikeout department, but the way he has been able to stay consistent makes him worthy of a spot on your roster.

As always, your questions (adds, drops, trades, etc) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours.